Anyway, back to the mortal peril thing
by rhymeswithmonth
Summary: His back was broad and muscular, his swing strong as he effortlessly cut the monster down. As the beast turned to dust, he grinned dashingly down at her, the girl he'd just saved from certain death. Or at least, that's what he was going for, she guessed.


Characters: Tatsuki, Renji, Orihime, Uryu, Keigo  
>Pairing(s): TatsukiRenji  
>Genre: GeneralHumor  
>Warnings: A bit of angry language (you know those two)<p>

I really think that they would work as a couple, but I don't think they've even officially met. This was really fun to right, their personalities just seem to flow nicely, despite their shared stubbornness.

/

Stupid, stupid, stupid idea! possible the absolute stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas! Gosh, even Keigo had been intelligent enough to run when the earsplitting shriek of the massive hollow had split the evening air.

But noooo, bigshot that she was, Tatsuki had decided the keep on heading right toward the soul-eating monster. Oh the flawless logic.

Where the hell was that asshole Ichigo? Oh right, he was freaking out of town. What was the deal with that? Even if it was only for the weekend, leaving the town in the very incapable hands of 'that-loser-reaper-with-the-fro'-(As Tatsuki had come to refer to him as, due to the fact that nobody seemed to know his real name)- was a completely reckless (and very Ichigo-ish) thing to do.

Tearing around a corner and into one of Karakura Town's many cliche dark alleyways, Tatsuki lost her footing and was sent sprawling through the air, in dramatic slowmo! fashion, and ripped at least two layers of skin off her knees, elbows and hands upon landing.

Friggin' hell that hurt! Goddamn and she had a very important match tomorrow too, these road burns were gonna hurt like a bitch to fight with.

_Worry about that hurtle when you come to it Tats _She told herself sternly, shakily clambering to her feet. Increasingly often, she's finding her thoughts taking off on random tangents. She must be spending too much time with Orihime.

CRASH went the dumpster she'd just seconds ago shoved to block the alley entrance. _HO SHIT! _Went one human girl as the hollow that had knocked it aside shot straight down the alley towards her.

Was this how she was going to die? She, the super awesome Tatsuki Arisawa, future best woman boxer in the world? Oh there was so much that she still wanted to do in her life; kick Ichigo's ass for skipping out on his duties, kick Keigo's ass for fleeing like the coward he was, Kick Chizuru's ass for constantly molesting Orihime...

Tatsuki was beginning to notice a rather violent trend in her aspirations.

Anyway, back to the mortal peril thing...

Tatsuki threw her arms in front of her face, ready to kick, scratch, bite, to fight dirty, anything necessary in order to get out of this alive.

CUE EPIC RESCUE IN THREE...TWO...ONE...INITIATE!

A seconds pause, she opens her eyes and lowers her arms to stare at the tall stranger that had appeared out of nowhere. The light of the setting sun gleamed off his glossy red locks, swept back from his face to expose sharp features and a strong jawline. His back was broad and muscular, his swing strong as he effortlessly cut the monster down. As the beast turned to dust, he grinned dashingly down at her, the girl he'd just saved from certain death. Opening his tantilizing lips he-

Or at least, that's what he was going for, she guessed. Tatsuki drew back her fist and socked him a good one, right under the 'strong jawline' of his.

Caught off guard, the soulreaper stumbled back a few feet, subbing his sore chin (and even sorer ego) "what the hell was that?" He bellowed angrily "I just saved your life!"

"Like hell you did!" Tatsuki yelled back. "I had it under control!"

"It sure as hell didn't look like that to me!"

"Well then get your eyes checked!"

"Oh how very original, you think that one up on your own?"

"Why you pompous asshole!"

"Ungrateful bit-"

"DON'T SAY IT!"

Biting his lip, he looked rather tempted to. Tatsuki pinned him down with a dagger-like glare. The intense battle of wills that followed lasted a good two minutes before the redhead huffed and crossed his arms. "Whatever"

And victory goes to Arisawa! Grinning maniacally, she cackled her triumph to the heavens. Take THAT male chauvinism.

The soulreaper, what was his name again? Ryou? Reiji? Renji, that was it. Ichigo's 'cousin' from America. He didn't wear defeat well. Feigning disinterest, he turned his head to the side. "Didn't think that I'd ever get to see it in person."

"See what?" she graced his loser self with her attention.

"One of the legendary 'PMSing' women that Ichigo is always complaining about"

Oh no he did not. That wiped the smirk right off her face. Obviously this guy was a sucker for punishment. Well, this time, she wasn't going to let him off so easily. Bring her knee sharply up, she aimed right for the spot that would guarantee he'd never dare cross this girl ever again.

But this time he was prepared, and caught her leg before contact. Tatsuki tried to twist away, but this guy was effing strong. Keeping his grip on her leg, he pushed her backwards, forcing her to do an embarrassing little one-foot hop, until her back hit the cement wall of a building. Jeex, leaning over her she realized just how tall this guy was. Aggressively, he shoved his face inches from hers, teeth bared, ready to give her a piece of his mind when...

"TATSUKI-CHAAAAN!"

Both of them jerked their heads toward the alley entrance in time to see a panicked Orihime skid to a stop right where Tatsuki had fallen, followed closely by Ishida and a winded Keigo.

"Tatsuki-chan are you alri-" Orihime cut off and her pretty grey eyes widened comically and she stammered "R-Renji-kun, you're here!...Uhm...Keigo came to get us and...u-uhm" The poor girl was bright red, and Tatsuki wondered what had come over her when she realized...

Ohmigod Renji had her pushed up against the wall, with one leg up in a very, very suspicious manner, and their faces were so very close together.

She yelped and shoved against the soul-reaper's chest/stomach area, desperately trying to shake him off. Punching him in the gut made him exhale an interesting "uhuwwgh" sound, but he still didn't let go.

"What the hell's your problem now?" He asked obliviously. "You idiot" she spat, "get off me!" Then, turning to Orihime and the others "Guy's, this isn't what it looks like!"

That seemed to drive it through his thick skull, and in a flash, he pushed away from her and was against the opposite wall of the alley so fast that she wondered if he'd used shunpo. "I was...you don't really think...she sai...we-" Renji spluttered like an idiot, even more flustered than she was. The two of them leaned against the buildings, like two children caught being naughty.

Ishida, bless his bespectacled soul, was the one to break the incredibly awkward silence. Pushing his glasses up his nose stiffly, he cleared his throat. "Well then, it appears we aren't needed here, I'll be getting home, we have a math test tomorrow if you remember." And thankfully, with that their little gathering broke up.

Unthankfully, Ishida and Orihime lived in the same direction, so he offered to walk her home. Keigo was meeting his sister at a gas station down the road. And by a cruel twist of fate, Tatsuki's house happened to be a block away from the Urahara shop. That meant one uncomfortably long walk with one red-haired soulreaper.

Tatsuki scowled at the asphalt passing below her feet. It was going much too slowly for her liking. Her feet itched to break into a run, leaving the jerk at her side in her dust. But she controlled herself because running away now would be admitting defeat. So she bared with it and walked at a normal pace, matching each of his (much) longer strides with two of her own.

She hated this, the air was so thick with awkwardness that she could feel it crawling on her skin. Twitchily, she brought her hand up to her head and ran it through her short hair. She hissed and yanked it away immediately, having forgotten about her ruined palms. Swearing under her breath, Tatsuki looked at the bloody mess. The jagged cuts were full of dirt and tiny pebbles. Now that she remembered her cuts, the ones on her elbows and knees were throbbing too. She was not going to sleep well tonight.

A voice came from her companion. "That looks nasty." He said, his brown eyes fixed on the injury. "Want me to do something for it? I'm not the greatest at Kido, but I think I can manage that."

She was about to decline, but then she remembered the competition. It was the qualifier for the regional championship, and whoever won that got a shot at the nationals. She was hoping to use this opportunity to get a scholarship to a good university. Having road rash all over her body would pretty much destroy her chances. So reluctantly, she agreed.

Renji took her wrist and dragged her across the street into a little park. Sitting on a bench out of view of the street, Tatsuki reluctantly held her hand out to him, palm up. Taking her hand in his much larger one and held the other a couple inches above it. The intense look of concentration on his face so comical, that she couldn't help but giggle behind her free hand. His eyes flashed up and he silenced her with a glare. **Sorry **she mouthed sheepishly.

Taking a deep breath, he held it for a moment, and let it out in a heavy exhale. A soft green point of light appeared in the center of his palm, and since the sun had set a while ago, it cast a green glow over both of their faces. As she watched, the raw red scrapes grew over, replaced by creamy, intact skin. Pulling her arm back, she gazed at her hand in amazement. It didn't look as good as new per say, the skin was still pink and irritated looking, but it was still a difference that usually would have taken at least two weeks to happen.

"As I said" Renji said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his spiky head. "I'm not that great at healing Kidos. Rukia's much better than me"

"No, no" Tatsuki exclaimed. "This is incredible! I had no idea you guys could do this! Can Ichigo?"

"Nah, he's pretty shit at stuff like this. Anything to do with spirit particles and he's next to useless."

"Ha! That's so typical."

"Yeah, he's a dumbass."

"You've got that right."

A comfortable silence fell over them and they sat there grinning at each other for a full minute. Then Tatsuki pulled her leg up onto the bench between them and rolled up her track pants. "Here, do it again."

"Wow, you really took a spill"

"Yeah well, I was running for my life you know."

"Ah ha, so you admit that I saved your ass."

"Pssh" Tatsuki rolled her eyes "Maybe. Now shut up and fix my legs. You still have my elbows to do as well."

"Jeez, how have you walked all this way, these are deep!"

"This is nothing, I can take a little pain."

"Of course you can" He chuckled warmly "I'm beginning to think that there's not much you can't take."

"…Damn right."


End file.
